King of Eblan
by Jackson
Summary: Six years have passed and Edge has cut himself off from the world to rebuild his kingdom.  But soon, hiding will no longer be an option.  Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

AN: IMPORTANT- Just to clear up the air in advance, I am changing the original story slightly. I am modifying Edge's age so that one; a good deal of time has passed but he's still in his 20's, and two; so that the age difference between him and Rydia is bridged somewhat.

In addition I have ignored the fact that Edge became King of Eblan at the end of the game. I have also taken the Eblan Four from _The After Years _ and incorporated them into the storyline. If this bothers you greatly, I would not suggest reading.

I think I covered everything that I changed… let me know if anything other than that bothers you though

Enjoy!

King of Eblan

Chapter 1

It had been six years since they had defeated Zeromus, and Edge had finally rebuilt his kingdom and was, though reluctantly, accepting his place among his people as King of Eblan. He had put it off for a long time, but the Chamberlain had told him that it could no longer be pushed off. The coronation would be held in a few days time, and Edge still felt that he wasn't ready. With a deep sigh he paced to the window of his office and watched as people moved about, decorating for the coming event. Frowning through his mask as he watched, he never liked being the center of attention, and to make matters worse, the coronation brought up painful memories for Edge. The knowledge that his parents should still be alive, advising him, preparing him still, and that his coronation should be a long ways off, or that it would be if they hadn't met such a tragic fate. His heart still hurt from the loss, and he was sure the pain would ever fully fade. The truth was, Edge felt that he still wasn't ready to sit on the throne, though his Chamberlain was correct that it was his duty.

Edge stood straighter, but continued to look out the window, aware that he would soon have company. The one thing that kept him sane among the chaos of rebuilding his home was perfecting his skills. The physical activity would wear him out in a way that was unachievable through politics. He heard a soft knock on the door before it was opened, and through his peripheral vision he could see that it was his Chamberlain. The shorter man entered, rubbing his temples, he stopped a few feet from Edge, and watched him for a moment. The prince kept his eyes trained on the courtyard.

"We finally have all the invitation responses and can plan seating arrangements and the meals." The Chamberlain informed him. "I took the liberty to invite the companions from your travels, everyone was quite pleased to see you've decided to take your place as king and all have responded favorably."

Edge nodded, though only partially listening. It would be nice to see everyone again; it'd been a long time. The last time he'd seen them had been at Cecil and Rosa's wedding, and since, he'd been too busy with Eblan to even spare much thought to them. _Has it really been six years? _He thought to himself.

_They probably won't even recognize me. I've had to change so much for the sake of my country._ He thought wistfully. _It would be nice if I could be as carefree as I once was._ The Chamberlain continued to speak, as he was deep in his own thoughts, telling him how the preparations were going. The decorations didn't interest Edge though, the thing that seemed to keep him going were his people. He had to take care of them, and rebuild the nation stronger than it had been before, for the sake of future generations. He didn't want a weak nation that would lead to more orphans like him.

"Duke Azril's daughter is about your age and they will both be attending." He absently heard his Chamberlain say.

Edge averted his eyes from the window to meet the Chamberlain's gaze.

"No." he stated as he turned his back to the window, and leaned casually against it. The shorter man sighed.

"My Prince. You are twenty-eight now, it's past time you begin looking for a permanent companion." He stated.

Edge narrowed his eyes, it was true that he often felt a deep emptiness due to his lack of anyone close whom he could open up to and confide in. The man before him was the closest person to him, and they weren't even friends. The Chamberlain sighed again and nodded, though Edge did not give a verbal response.

"My apologies. I only wish for your happiness. You've done so much these last few years and I thought you might have some pride in that fact. The kingdom is thriving, and more beautiful than ever. Because of you, the people can live save, happy lives, yet you look as if you are a prisoner, condemned to death." The Chamberlain said, his voice full of remorse. "My Prince, I know that you have made sacrifices for the sake of your people." He paused considering his next words.

Edge didn't care to hear him finish though, and interrupted. "The peoples happiness is my happiness." He said with a political note to his tone.

The Chamberlain's eyes widened at his words, then his shoulders slumped in defeat and he averted his eyes to the floor, as he whispered so low that Edge could barely hear him; "You have changed so much."

The words caused Edge's temper to flare and he pushed himself from the window, his shoulders, which were much broader than they had been years ago, tensed.

"What do you expect from me!" he all but shouted. "You looked down on me as I used to be! Would you prefer me to behave that way again?"

The Chamberlain flinched at his tone as he said, "No, My Prince."

Edge gritted his teeth as he balled his hands into fists, "What else would you have me do!" he growled. His eyes narrowed as he moved away from the other man and sat at his desk where there were numerous piles of paper and unopened envelopes. "I have pride. You may not think that I am happy that my home has been restored, but I am." He said, calming himself, trying to force his emotions down.

"The pride I have for my country as well as the responsibilities I have require me to be as I am now. Who would respect a King, or any ruler who had nothing better to do than to sleep with his servants and act childish? I may have been promiscuous and rash in the past, but I can't behave like that now." He frowned at the desk, then leaned back in his chair and turned his head to look at the Chamberlain, a somewhat bitterly sorrowful look in his eyes.

"The truth, Kael, is this." He spoke the Chamberlains name, something he rarely did, and the man lifted his eyes from the floor to meet those of Edge. The Prince sighed, "I am in prison." He looked back at the desk, "I am doing my best just to stay as I am now. I feel as if I am no good with politics and formalities. There is so much I was unable to learn from my parents because I thought I had decades left with them." Edge closed his eyes, refusing to finish as he bent his head down into his hand. He couldn't relinquish his pride to say what was the most painful thing of all.

"You are dismissed." He said to the Chamberlain, who bowed and left the room without another word.

When he heard the door shut he slouched further into the chair and bent his head back to look at the ceiling as he pulled his mask down to hang around his neck. He deeply regretted not keeping better in touch with the others. He felt as if he had made himself an outsider. A vision of green flashed through his mind and he closed his eyes at the pain the image brought with it.

Edge covered his eyes with his hand and tried not to think about the one woman he was willing to abandon his kingdom for, feeling even guiltier for the fact that he felt so strongly for her.

_She's probably married with children by now. She always hated me anyways. _ He thought, though the image of her with another man caused him to unconsciously grab the hilt of his katana with his free hand. He took a deep breath and sighed, "Why can't I just forget about her already? Six years is long enough. Let it go." He told himself.

He had told himself this a few times over the years without success. Every woman Edge came across he would subconsciously compare to her, and each was found lacking. She was the only one he had tried to keep somewhat in touch with, but after Cecil and Rosa's wedding, he had run out of lame excuses, and she had never tried to contact him in return. If what his Chamberlain had said was correct though, she would be present at the coronation.

He had no idea what he would say to her though, but his heart sped up at the thought of being in her presence again. Edge smiled bitterly, "I really am a pathetic man after all." Then he suddenly smiled more honestly as he finished, "I guess you were right. You were often right, Rydia." He said it so gently, lovingly as he thought of her.

After a few moments, Edge began to read through some of the documents on his desk, attempting to push thoughts of Rydia aside. He absently pulled his mask back into position with his left hand, holding documents in his right. The mask had become a sort of comfort to him, like a security. At one time it had bothered him, yet now, he couldn't imagine his day without it. He removed it when he slept of course, but whenever he was out and about, it made him feel more comfortable with it on.

Setting his left elbow on the desk to rest his chin in his hand as his right held the papers up at an angle to make it easier to read, he began to skim over the files. One was in regards to a town near a river in need of levees for the rainy season, another requesting lower taxes, the next was requesting for more law enforcers in a town where a few people had recently gone missing, yet another requesting pay raise for provincial lords, another requesting granaries near a town that had infertile land, the pages went on and one. The hours dragged on and on as he went through each paper, setting them in appropriate stacks as he finished. It was the most boring work but he felt he owed his kingdom his attention if it was to be as magnificent as he desired it to be.

Edge yawned and rubbed his dry eyes. He could tell from the light in the room that the sun was setting, he felt sore from sitting for so long anyways. The ninja Prince set the papers down as he stood, and stretched with a slight grunt. With a final yawn, he exited the room, raking his hand through his hair and locking the door. Slowly he made his way to the kitchens, it had been a while since he last ate and it was late enough that he figured there wouldn't be as many people in there preparing for the coronation. To his disappointment, he could hear a good deal of commotion as he neared the kitchen. Edge pushed through the door; there were still five women who seemed to be fussing over the coronation menu. They looked up as he entered and quickly stood to bow to him.

"No need for that. Go back to what you were doing." He said coolly and made his way to the pantry. The girls were obviously uncomfortable with the idea of ignoring him and he stifled a sigh, they were new to the castle, probably brought in just for the event. He grabbed some dried meat, crackers, cheese and rum and left the kitchen.

_I'm simply a person like anyone else. _ He thought sourly as he headed to his room. After closing the door with his heel he set the food down on a table and opened the bottle of rum, pulling his mask down as he did so. He smiled slightly after taking a drink, feeling the heat travel to his stomach. Edge set the bottle down on the table and began to remove his cape; the Fire Scarf, leather armor, and shirt. He set his gear neatly on a rack near the bed and then moved to sit down at the table, pulling out one of the many knives he kept handy and cutting the cheese into small slices.

This was when he felt the most lonely. There was nothing here to distract him from the fact that he was eating alone and so he had begun a ritual of drinking in the evening. Edge never drank so much that he got drunk; he just wanted to feel numb, mindless. He felt like he was going crazy, everyday was the same as the last, and though he had no one to blame but himself, he was always alone as he ate dinner and went to bed. There was no one for him, at least, that was how he felt. The alcohol just made him feel like he had his one rebellious act for the day. He'd always thought it'd be nice to just pack up and leave for a week. To disappear and not tell anyone where he was going, he thought it would be exciting, to not even have a plan, to just start walking and see where his feet took him.

With a heavy heart, that even the rum couldn't cure, he finished his meal and placed the cap back on the bottle. Edge bent over and began unlacing his shoes when there was a soft knock on his door. Pausing for a moment, he frowned thinking it had just been his imagination and continued to remove his shoes. Suddenly there was a commotion outside the door, and his heart leapt to his throat at the angry voice he heard.

"Miss, you can't be here! Your room is prepared on the other side of the castle." A servant begged.

"No." there was a short pause and he could almost hear the woman inhaling. "Edge!" the angry voice called. "Get your ass out here! I don't hear crap from you for SIX YEARS and you don't even have the DECENCY to mail me the invitation yourself!"

Hardly aware his body was moving he stood and opened the door to see angry green eyes narrowed venomously at him. All he could do was stare, he wasn't ready to see her, hadn't even a clue as to what to say, not that his brain was fully functional right now, it was taking a lot of effort to realize that she actually was standing before him. Finally, he managed to tear his eyes away from Rydia long enough to dismiss the servant, then stepped to the side allowing the green-haired beauty to storm in before softly closing the door behind her. After a moment he was able to get his voice to work well enough to ask the question that had been repeating itself over and over in his mind since hearing her voice.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice deeper than he intended.

She turned swiftly on her heel to face him once more, her shoulders stiff, a frown on her face and what he could only assume was the invite his Chamberlain had sent crinkled in her fist.

"I spoke to everyone about you. It wasn't just me you haven't been talking to. After Cecil and Rosa's wedding, I thought it had just been me who you distanced yourself from, but I spoke to Rosa about this coronation and found out, you haven't spoken to ANYONE!" her voice was filled with anger and hurt. "Why did you do that Edge? We all care about you, we all WANT to be around you." She paused, her voice growing soft, "Six years." She shook her head, "For six years I've tried to figure out what I did that pushed you away." Her anger flared again and she frowned at him, her voice once again taking on the sharp tone it had before. "I'm not leaving until you tell me _why._"

Edge couldn't help but notice how stunning she was, more beautiful than he remembered. To him, she only became more beautiful with age. (AN: Ain't that just a guy for you… not listening.)

"You look great Rydia." He said gently, she blushed for a moment in shock, but quickly regained her composure.

"Don't' change the topic." She stated curtly.

Took keep his emotions from slipping, he turned his back to her and moved to the window, looking out to clear his head and answer her question without completely lying. Her smell caused his heart to beat harder in his chest, and he struggled to regain composure.

Focusing on the rising moon he said, "I've been very busy Rydia. My Kingdom needed me. I had to choose if a handful of people who are close to me are more important than the livelihood of my people, something has to give. It's not like any of you have been replaced. All of you remain to this day to be my only surviving friends. After so long of losing contact, I couldn't find a good excuse to continue communications. You all have your own troubles without me telling you mine out of the blue." He sighed. "It was never my intention for you to believe that I was pushing you away."" He finished, though unable to meet her gaze.

"Who are you?" Rydia asked, her voice borderline sarcastic. Edge closed his eyes, brow furrowing at the twinge her words caused in his chest.

"Don't ask such a ridiculous question. You know who I am." He said, keeping his eyes closed. Rydia considered him for a few minutes in silence, and her next words nearly made him fall over.

"Flirt with me." She requested softly.

Edge's eyes widened and he whipped his head around to stare at her, a "what?" falling from his lips.

Rydia lifted her eyes to meet his, a slight grin on her face. "Well, you're hardly wearing clothes, I'm in your bedroom… the Edge _I _know would never pass up such an opportunity to say something completely stupid to me."

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**AN: **Thank you all for reading. I will have another chapter up shortly but man my hands hurt. I actually posted this directly from my notebook, so it was a lot of typing all at one time and I'm not really used to that.

Please let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

King of Eblan

Chapter 2

"Well, you're hardly wearing clothes, I'm in your bedroom… the Edge I know would never pass up such an opportunity to say something completely stupid to me."

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"I'm a little out of practice to be honest." He chocked out as he watched her carefully. She was throwing him for one loop after another, and he couldn't predict her next move.

Rydia grinned at him, "That's alright, you were really never very good at it anyways."

Edge smiled for the first time in a long time, he actually couldn't remember the last time someone had made him smile. He raised an eyebrow at her, "Is that so?"

Rydia nodded at him and waited for him to say something, but the room remained silent for a number of minutes and she sighed at him. "C'mon. Out with it. I know you have a million cheap lines piling up in that head of yours. Lets hear one." She said trying to sound annoyed. Edge laughed heartily at her and she gave him a confused look.

"It's good to know you still think so highly of me." He said between laughs. She always had a way of lightening his heart in a way that no one else could. It made him feel alive. However, his response caused her to frown at him, "This isn't funny Edge. Don't think that because I've changed the subject that I've altered my ultimate purpose for being here." She paused and turned away from him.

"After the coronation… are you going to forget us again?"

Her pained tone had Edge's chest tightening and he sighed as he sat on the edge of his bed, setting his elbows on his knees and leaning on them. "I never forgot anyone. I never forgot you. It's just seemed like, every time I was able to get ahead of my work that there was suddenly a new pile of shit to do." He closed his eyes, "I've actually been quite lonely without anyone here. I get up, work, eat alone and sleep, then repeat the process. I'm hoping that things will slow down after the coronation, but I really don't know." Feelings that had built up for six years began to pour out and he couldn't seem to find a way to stop from telling her everything.

"After so long, I didn't even know what I would say if I were to try to contact anyone. Yang has a family, Cecil and Rosa have their own kingdom to rule and rebuild, and Cid is busy with business, not like I'd have much to talk about with him anyways. The twins are in school, or were and I wanted to go to their graduation ceremony, but it was during a critical time here and my chamberlain practically forced me to stay. And you, well… I figured you'd be happier not to hear from me, you never seemed to care for the way I talked to you. Yet, now you ask me to flirt with you and I don't know what to think. You probably know me better than anyone. I do indeed have about a million stupid things in my head to say to you, I think most would result in me getting slapped though." He lifted his eyes to hers, as she'd turned back to face him as he spoke and Edge gave her a soft smile.

"I know I've changed, and I'm not really thrilled about it. I don't know how everyone will react to that. I'm still the same person on the inside, but I have to be a leader for my kingdom." He gave her an almost helpless look, "I'd love to just skip the coronation, leave for a while, I don't even care where to. Anything to get away for awhile without my chamberlain breathing down my neck."

He buried his face in his hands. "Now I'm being pressured to find a wife." He groaned, "I don't know why I'm telling you everything like this, I couldn't seem to stop." Edge looked at her again with an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry Rydia. I'm not myself."

Rydia moved closer to him, her white summer dress nearly glowing from the light of the moon shining through the window. The fabric hung gracefully from her shoulders, a small strap syncing the fabric just under her breasts allowing the rest to fall to her knees. Her emerald hair hung past her shoulders, slight waves giving it volume and it swayed as she walked. Edge watched her as if entranced as she knelt before him; taking his hands in hers and tilting her head back to look at him. He felt like he couldn't breathe, and his fingers curled around hers in subconscious response. Edge suddenly became very aware of himself, conscious of the fact that he was wearing nothing but his white pants and that his breath must stink of rum. He noticed the slight blush on her cheeks, it only making her more striking in his eyes.

"Edge…" she began, "You really are a moron you know?" and she gave him a weak smile.

"So you like to remind me." He noted.

Rydia shook her head at him, "It seems necessary." At that, Edge chuckled weakly, he was tired, no… more like exhausted. He'd told her all the things that had been bothering him, things he'd kept bottled up and her response was to chide him on being stupid. Edge couldn't rile himself enough to disagree with her, so he shrugged as he said, "Perhaps."

After a period of silence, he reluctantly pulled his hands out of hers and laid back on the bed, closing his eyes. "You should go back to your room, before I start acting even more stupid." He heard the soft rustle of fabric as she stood, but kept his eyes closed, worried he might wish to stop her if he looked at her again.

"You know," she said, and from the distance he could tell she had moved to the door. "We should take that trip, only after the coronation. I think you need to get out for a while, get away from the castle and everything. It'll be good for you." She spoke softly, her voice almost lulling him to sleep.

"The chamberlain would have a heart attack, but if you're offering to keep me company, I doubt I could resist." He yawned, his body relaxing even with his legs still hanging off the edge of the bed, one arm across his face, the other on his stomach.

"I'll go if you behave." She said with a brighter note in her voice, and he heard the door open.

"Well you… know…" he fell asleep before he could even finish, the words forgotten before he could complete the sentence. Rydia smiled softly at the tired prince and left the room, heading to her own quarters to sleep. She thought back to her talk with Rosa.

The White Mage had given her the courage to confront Edge, and had told her about how if it weren't for the fact that Cecil had her, he would have worked himself into the ground. Apparently the makings of kings often required self-sacrificing stubbornness with an inability to realize that even they needed to take a break and that the kingdom wouldn't perish if they weren't there 24/7. Rosa had told her about Cecil's secret visit to Eblan to see Edge, and that the prince had seemed much more worn and as if ready to collapse when he had caught a glance of him. This information had worried Rydia; though she still felt anger that Edge wouldn't confide in them after all they had been through together.

Rosa had told her to try not to take his actions personally, and that Edge was trying not to trouble them with his problems, or had too much pride to do so. Rydia felt she must have caught Edge at a vulnerable time, it was rare for him to fully open up as he did. She would keep his confession to herself; she knew he would tell someone else if he wished them to know. As far as Rydia was concerned, his words had been for her ears alone.

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Edge awoke with the sun as usual the next morning. He took a shower and by the time he was dressed there was fresh fruit sitting on the table for breakfast, the remains of his dinner last night had been cleaned up.

There was a small folder next to the bowl of fruit, and Edge flipped it open as he sat down. It was an update, to help prepare him for the morning meeting; he began to read as he bit into an apple. Most of the update consisted of his schedule for the day and news on preparations for his coronation. He yawned against the back of his hand as he finished the report and closed the folder, as there was a knock on his door. Edge took another bite of his apple and opened the door to see Izayoi of the Eblan Four.

He nodded to her since he was still chewing and she walked in, leaving the door open. Edge moved back to the chair and leaned back, crossing his leg to put his ankle on his knee, he watched Izayoi and took another bite of his apple.

"Your Majesty, we found bodies of the missing people along the coast this morning." She told him somberly. Edge swallowed and raised his eyebrows.

"Unfortunately, the water has washed away most of the evidence, so there is very little to go on."

Edge frowned and took another bite of the apple, "We need to send more law enforcers to the town, and I'd like Gekkou to lead the investigation. Are there no threats or ransoms?" he asked after swallowing another bite of apple.

Izayoi shook her head, "Nothing thus far."

With a sigh, Edge set the apple core on the table and began to suck his fingers dry, "Thank you Izayoi. Is that all?"

She nodded, bowed and took her leave, passing Rydia as she walked out the door, though not pausing to greet her. Rydia looked into Edge's room and he gave her a slight smile, letting her know it was fine to walk in.

"Didn't get enough of me last night?" he teased, feeling more like himself with her around. He motioned to the bowl of fruit, "Are you hungry?"

She watched him for a moment and he laughed a little, "It was a joke Rydia."

Rydia smiled a little, "Oh that. I know it was. Uh, was that woman your fiancé?" she asked timidly.

Edge grinned, "Why? You jealous?" Rydia narrowed her eyes at him and he laughed more.

"So she is?" Rydia asked, frowning at how much humor he found in teasing her about it.

Edge snorted at that as he stood, "Hardly. That was Izayoi of the Eblan Four, one of my… disciples if you will and considers herself a ninja before a woman. Very loyal." He explained and he couldn't help but notice she seemed more at ease with the information.

"Though my chamberlain has been throwing women at me right and left." He said with a slight frown.

Rydia grabbed a few grapes from the bowl, counting them out in her hand. "I bet you're loving all that attention."

Edge made a disgusted look, "You think I'm shallow." He accused, and she met his eyes, popping a grape in her mouth.

"You haven't really proved otherwise." She state sourly. At that, Edge narrowed his eyes at her, as an angry look flashed across his face, he swiftly pushed his mask up.

"Enjoy the food, I have a meeting." He began towards the door, but paused before stepping out. "And so you know, I don't like attention from women who can only see a crown and money." He began walking again, "Despite what you may think, I actually do desire a deeper relationship than that of convenience." He was gone before she could respond.

Angry with herself for taking her misplaced jealousy out on Edge, she threw the remaining grapes back in the bowl. She knew he wasn't so shallow, he might have been in his younger years, but she knew he had changed, even before they had met. He had always been a flirt, but she'd never even seen him kiss a woman, at least not in a romantic way, hands and cheeks didn't count in this matter.

She knew she had just pushed him away and hurt him. Rydia was so angry with herself she didn't even know where to go or what to do. She didn't know if she should stay and wait for Edge to return so she could apologize, or if she should go greet Rosa and Cecil who would be arriving in a few hours, or just go back to her room, though that option would most likely involve sulking.

Rydia sighed, she didn't want to push Edge away, especially not when she was beginning to see flashed of the old, lively Edge she had fallen in love with. When she got the invitation, she had thought Edge might already be married; after all, it had been six years. She had suitors attempt to court her, but her heart already belonged to Edge, though he didn't know it.

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Edge closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, trying without success, to get Rydia's painful words from his head. The knowledge that she thought so little of his character solidified the fact that he could never hope to confess his feelings to her. He groaned in annoyance as his advisors yelled at one another over his head in the midst of an argument.

'_Nothing new there'_ he thought bitterly. His advisors often fought, usually about how they could get the prince to do something that some would want, but the others would feel another issues was more important. This particular argument was over who was suitable to be Queen of Eblan… the current bane of Edge's existence.

He couldn't take it anymore; he didn't want to meet any more women. His heart ached at the idea of being with anyone but Rydia. Over the years he had tried to lighten this feeling by telling himself that she must have put a spell on him. Of course, Edge knew she hadn't, he was just too stubborn to let her go.

"That's enough." He said with a deep, cold, but calm tone and the advisors immediately quieted. Edge opened his eyes as he lifted his head from his hands to glare at each and every one of them. "Talk about something else. I'm not getting married." He stood up. They all watched him with dumbfounded expressions on their faces, until one finally managed to speak up; "Ever?"

Edge met his eyes with a serious expression on his face to back up the fact that he was not joking around, "Ever." He stated as if law, then looked to the others, "I am going to the training room if anyone needs me." And with that, he left the meeting room.

Training had always been the easiest way for Edge to clear his mind. At times he thought it might have been due to training that he was the way he was. Growing up, his favorite thing to do had been honing his skills as a ninja. He knew that many didn't understand his passion for the physical activity, though many, especially women, appreciated the condition of his body due to it.

After an hour and a half of training, and hardly breaking a sweat, he sat to eat a small lunch, summoning Tsuinowa. It only took a few minutes for Tsukinowa to arrive in the training hall, though it didn't surprise Edge since the boy was the fastest in the kingdom, even faster than Edge, which always made sparring much more enjoyable and challenging.

The youngest of the Eblan Four bowed respectfully to Edge who stood as he took a small sip of water before setting the cup down with the food.

"You summoned me?" the boy asked as he rose.

Edge nodded, "Yes, and I suspect the location has given away my intentions."

The boy grinned at that; "Indeed." And was attacking Edge almost before the ninja prince could react.

The two sparred for hours and were fairly evenly matched. They both won and lost, complimenting the other occasionally and staring another round without hesitation. Finally they both sat back panting and sweating.

"Thank you Tsukinowa, I needed that." Edge said between breaths and wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.

Tsukinowa nodded in return, "Anytime Master." And chuckled a little.

With a huff, Edge got to his feet, bowing slightly in respect to his sparring partner, "Until next time." He said before turning and exiting the hall. He needed to bathe; he was sure that his advisors would recover soon from his earlier statement and begin bombarding him with arguments.

Edge walked into his room, closing the door behind him and pulling down his mask. He was so worn from his sparring that he didn't even sense the presence of another person in the room. Edge nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand land softly on his shoulder and he quickly whipped around to see Rydia. She flinched slightly with his sharp movement and whispered, "Sorry."

Edge calmed himself and moved away from her, beginning to strip some of his gear off, though leaving his pants on, for obvious reasons. He didn't have anything to say to her, with his pants and shoes still on he grabbed a hand towel and began to dry his face, neck and shoulders of lingering sweat.

"Edge, I need to talk to you." She stated finally and when he glanced at her, he noticed the heavy blush on her face and her eyes were averted from him. She really was very innocent.

"Didn't think there was anything left to say, you made it quite clear this morning what you thought of me." He stated coolly, almost as if the conversation had already begun to bore him.

Rydia shook her head, "What I said to you… it wasn't true." Her eyes met his in a pleading stare; "You have to believe me when I say that. I was frustrated, mostly with myself, and I know it's not right, but I took it out on you."

Edge paused and considered her for a long moment, the time stretched on painfully for Rydia, but she was nothing if not stubborn, and she held his gaze. Finally, Edge sighed and to Rydia, the slight curl at the corner of his lips signified that it was perhaps in relief.

"Women." He said and closed his eyes for a moment as he took a few deep, calming breaths. "I believe you." He said s he opened his eyes and offered her a small smile, though Rydia could tell he still felt hurt from her earlier words. She offered him a larger smile.

"I'm so glad, I have been worried that you wouldn't. You're a great friend Edge, I don't know what I would've done if you didn't believe my words this morning were falsehoods brought by my own anger. I'm so sorry. I'll make this up to you somehow!" she stated fiercely.

The soon to be King of Eblan gave her an amused look as he said, "Whatever makes you feel better. Now, I know you like my room and all, but I'm going to take a bath, so I'd suggest you go greet Cecil and Rosa who will be arriving within the hour. If you stay here, you'll be getting a strip show." He teased as he knelt down to untie his shoes.

Rydia felt her face flush with the insinuation and quickly turned and left the room, muttering a "bye" as she closed the door behind her. She heard Edge's deep chuckle as she left, the sound causing her heart to twinge and beat faster. Just his voice did things to her that she'd never admit out loud, but his laugh sent her to the moon.

Rydia wasn't exactly sure when she had fallen in love with Edge, but in her six years without him, she'd realized her heart desired no one else. There had been many suitors approach her as she had been rebuilding Mist, and at first, she'd even officially courted a few, but they always ended the same. She sighed as she walked down the steep staircase of the castle.

The men were usually attractive to her, and all were very nice, but she found herself comparing each of them to Edge. Even when a man had more pro's than the ninja prince, she'd make excuses and ultimately apologize and end the relationship. Rosa had seemed concerned at first with her short-lived romances, and after months of nagging, Rydia finally confessed and told her how she kept comparing them all to Edge. After their talk, Rosa had smiled knowingly and had left the matter alone entirely since. Rydia figured that Rosa probably understood her feelings before she did.

_'Ah, it's so embarrassing.' _Rydia thought to herself, finally making it to one of the castles side doors that led to a large meadow where the airship would likely land. The young caller was quite excited to see her friend, it was always nice to have another woman to talk to about things.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Thank you all for reading, and sorry it has taken me so long to update.

I've gotten sucked into playing WoW with the new expansion out and all… so I've neglected my writing a good bit. Plus WoW + child = no time to write. But now that I've gotten some raiding in I feel I can take a break and start working on my stories again. Hope you enjoy the chapter and I'll try to not let it be another month before the 3rd chapter comes out!

Please Review and tell me what you think! Reviews make the world go 'round. (Also… I am a lazy author and haven't proof-read this so let me know if something is messed up and needs to be corrected!)

Thanks again!


	3. Author Update

Sorry this isn't what any of you expected, it's not Chapter 3

I wanted to let everyone who is following the story (even a year later), that I haven't forgotten about it, but it has been a very wild year for me, much more involved and stressful than I could have possibly anticipated.

I appreciate everyone's patience and support. I have a lot of people really wanting me to update another story I have "The Heat", personally… it's not nearly as well written in my opinion as King of Eblan, nor do I feel particularly connected to the story.

Believe it or not, I never played The After Years game, I ended up doing a lot of research for this fanfic because I have never really played FFIV either. THAT'S RIGHT! What happened was I accidentally came across the opening sequence for the new Nintendo DS game for FFIV, and became very interested in who the ninja was, and the more I learned about him, the more I learned about Rydia, and everyone else.

I'm sure Cecil is one of those characters that you just fall in love with during the game, but his character felt really rather bland to me, but Edge… he really was interesting to me. The reason I've made this fanfic start 6 years later is to allow Rydia to mentally mature a bit more, she aged physically but not entirely mentally in the game from what I learned, and it felt a bit like pedophile… so the 6 years just makes it feel less so to me.

I have not fallen off the face of the planet, and am really going to make an effort to dedicate time to writing Chapter 3 before school starts and my life has no spare time again. The Heat can wait King of Eblan will be the fic that gets time enough for an update!

Love you all, and thank you so much for your kind words and support, it means so much to me and I hope I make you proud in Chapter 3!


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